Back to School!

Y'all.  Do you hear the pitter patter of feet heading your way?  Those new shoes and fresh clothes are ready for you!  It's that time of year!  Can you believe it?  Even though I'm not going to be in a classroom this year, I can't help getting butterflies thinking about the beginning of the year.

Welcome and thanks for joining our blog hop!!  There are beauties, freebies, and so much MORE below.  Check it out and continue on the hop!  There's something for everybody and you can win $45 from ::my store::!! :) >>Keep Reading!!<<

Every Sunday I share an iPhone wallpaper for inspiration.  Grab this week's for free and be sure to >>follow me<< so you can have the prettiest phone each week!

Click this beauty and save it as your iPhone wallpaper!

I know that b2s is HARD.  For so many reasons- eating healthy, working out, taking care of family and friend relationships, and oh yea, WORKING again.  Well, my goal is to make one of those at least a little easier.  How about a B2s menu guide?  That's right!!  Introducing my newest product (hot off the presses!) a meal planner for you and your family.  There will be one available for each month of the year eventually.  Included are 6 recipes/week (cuz ain't no one got time for 7 meals/week!), seasonal ingredients, a slowcooker recipe each week, a YUMMY vegetarian recipe each week, grocery lists (pre-filled and left blank) and SO. MUCH. MORE.  Did I mention it's all inexpensive too?  And because I love y'all, a sample week (for the month of August) is provided fo' free, below!!  Download it, print it off, use it, save yourself valuable time, share it, tell your friends, enjoy cooking, and take pictures with the hashtag, #mealswithappleslices!

Now, I don't know about you- but first days of school can be monotonous, boring, and more of those synonyms.  BUT writing is always fun. (I'm a writing nerd for reallsies)  And it's a superb way to start the year.  Let's be honest, who is not obsessed with hashtags?  #theyrefun #andsilly #andaddsomuchpersonalitytoyourcaptions So why wouldn't your kiddos love some hashtag action?  Download this B2S {FREE} #hashtag activity to show your students that you love writing, love them, and want to have a fun year together in your classroom!

Now, what's B2S without savings?  Are you one of the lucky ones enjoying tax free weekend right now?  If you are- get out there and shop!!  If not, you can find savings in my store for today and today ONLY!  Grab anything for 20% off!

Be sure to enter our Rafflecopter, below, so you can win some fab prizes!!  Seriously, y'all!!  There are SO many prizes!! >>EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!<<


I'm not the only one on this hop!  Hop along to the next blog and get excited about heading Back to School!  Cheers, friends :)



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Inspiration for the Week!

Grab this inspiration for your phone... and remember, there's always tomorrow :)

Weekly Inpiration!

It's nearly Summer and that means a little phone inspiration is necessary!  Save this image to your phone and set it as your background!

Secrets for Teachers!

There are thousands of teacher secrets out there.  Let's be honest, with Pinterest, Teachers Blogs,  Instagram, etc... it feels like we've seen them all.  But implementing them all is a whole different beast. 

When teaching gives you lemons, how do you react?  How do you cope?  As we all know, teaching does get stressful.  Teaching does get hard.  And most of all, teaching does get frustrating.  Parents, data organization, observations, discipline, conferences, report cards, scheduling changes, school mandates, and on and on.  The things they never teach you in school.

My first reaction is to cry.  That's just how I cope.  Preferably in a corner where nobody can see me.  But then my second reaction {and absolutely the most appropriate of the two} is to grab my mentor teaching texts.  Such as Wondrous Words by Katie Wood Ray.  Or Still Learning to Read by Franki Siberson.

These are my lifelines.  My friends.  My confidants.  They remind me of what's important, what matters, and help me clear up or fix any problems.  When I'm stressed, I look to these guys to help me focus on what's important.  Or when a new school mandate frustrates me, I look to these guys to figure out how I'm going to make it work in my classroom.  I find solace in these books.  Their flagged pages, broken and unglued spines, highlighted quotes, notes in the margins, and folded down corners remind me of how far I've come as a teacher.  And how much further I have to go.  They help put me in my place.  And that is worth every penny I spend on them.

Typically, any problem I have can be solved by looking through these books.  Sometimes it takes time to find the right one, but it makes a difference.  Go to the Pros, and make it work for you.

After reaching for the Pros, I always always always keep as much of a routine in my classroom as I possibly can.  ALWAYS.   As Michael Linson mentions in this great article, routines remove the guesswork from the day.  A class that knows what to expect next will have fewer questions, fewer explanations necessary, and way higher productivity. I believe that sticking to a routine (even in those nutty, insane, May days) help my students exponentially.  EXPONENTIALLY! 

So now that I've shared some of my classroom secrets, what are your's?  How do routines help you?  Who are your favorite "GO TO" Pros?  Be sure to enter the giveaway below and follow the links for more secrets to teaching!!

 

Don't forget that we're hosting an AMAZING giveaway!  Enter BELOW!  

Just look at everything you could win!! 

Prize Bundle #1 Includes

Mountain Math/Language Resource of your Choice (up to $99.95)

$100 Gift Card to Teachers Pay Teachers

$50 Amazon Gift Card

Smart Class Website Designed by Flapjack Educational Resources

Pencil Sharpener by Classroom Friendly Supplies

Year-Long Writing Prompts by Mrs. D's Corner

Mentor Sentences Unit by Jivey

Dealing with Math Homework by Teacher's Clubhouse

Your Choice of Melonheadz Graphics (up to $7.00)

Growing Bundle Purposeful Problem Solving by Pawsitively Teaching

Pop Art Coloring Page for Seasons and Holidays by Art by Jenny K

Game Pack from Flap Jack Educational Resources

PLUS....$140 Gift Box of Fabulous Teacher Supplies sent to you from Amazon

We aren't even finished yet!!  Take a look at everything you can win!!

Prize Bundle #2 Includes

Mountain Math/Language Resource of your Choice (up to $99.95)

$100 Gift Card to Teachers Pay Teachers

$50 Amazon Gift Card

Smart Class Website Designed by Flapjack Educational Resources

Pencil Sharpener by Classroom Friendly Supplies

Year-Long Writing Prompts by Mrs. D's Corner

Mentor Sentences Unit by Jivey

Dealing with Math Homework by Teacher's Clubhouse

Your Choice of Melonheadz Graphics (up to $7.00)

Growing Bundle Purposeful Problem Solving by Pawsitively Teaching

Pop Art InteractiveColoring Page for Seasons and Holidays by Art by Jenny K

Mega Task Card Bundle from Flap Jack Educational Resources

PLUS....$140 Gift Box of Fabulous Teacher Supplies sent to you from Amazon

Be sure to enter both rafflecopters for a better chance at winning one of these amazing prize bundles!

Enter to Win Prize Bundle #1 Here

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Enter to Win Prize Bundle #2 Here

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You won't want to miss out on all the other great secrets being shared by successfull teachers!  Be sure to check out all the other great posts below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Weekly Inspiration // Passion

None of us are in this for the money, the fame, or the glamor.   It's all about the calling.  Save this pretty little ditty to your phone and set it as your phone wallpaper!

Stop by every Sunday for a new FREE iPhone background!  Share your background with me on Instagram or Facebook!

Teach Students to Share Evidence! CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.9

Sharing evidence is HARD.  Students consistently struggle with this in testing, writing responses, or sharing their opinion.  And unfortunately, I get it!  They don't yet grasp the concept of figuring out HOW they know something and then putting it in their response.  But today I want to share a couple tricks to help you get students to share their evidence! Be sure to check out my Pinterest Board for a whole slew of information. 

Before you can do anything, your kiddos need to be readers.  You don't want them reading like we grew up reading.  I know I was taught to find the answer and regurgitate it.  Thinking was never necessary.  Nowadays, I want to teach readers who think critically about what's in front of them.  So numero uno, it's vital to discuss text with your readers!  Without this key component, they won't begin thinking about the text at all.   You can grab a cheat sheet >>HERE<<!

After you've talked a lot about texts, the best way to get students to really see evidence, is to grab a graphic organizer.  A simple graphic organizer like the one below will help get kiddos thinking.

 

After you've used a graphic organizer, learners should begin to get the hang of it.  As they do, a good reminder like this:

will help keep them on track! 

By digging in deep with smaller texts in the beginning, students will be able to start tackling larger and more complex texts.  It's all about scaffolding and modeling! 

What are your favorite tips?  I would love to hear them! 

Weekly Inspiration!

It's Sunday, and while I've been slacking on the blogging, it's time for some weekly inspiration!  Grab this fun and Spring-y iPhone wallpaper NOW!  Just save it to your phone and enjoy :)